CCSD board examines students' ACT scores

Carroll Community School Board members on Monday night discussed the district’s ACT scores.

Eighty-six students took the ACT during the 2011-12 school year, which is the most students to take it in one year for at least the last five years, and they kept up with the state average, even beating it in mathematics and reading by at least one point.

ACT score averages at Carroll High School have stayed about the same in all subjects compared with scores in 1995 except math, which jumped by about three points, and reading, where the average went from 22 to almost 24.

Carroll High School principal Steve Haluska said the students are ready for college courses in all of the areas except biology, where students had an average of 22.6 instead of the recommended 24.

The board also looked at I-Growth Data from the 2012 Iowa Assessment, a request made at the August meeting by member LaVern Dirkx.

The data show the percent of students who grew at least one year in each subject field.

The graph showed that the subject area with the lowest percent of students who grew more than one year is math, almost across the board.

Of the third and fourth grades, 40 percent grew at least one year, 31 percent of the fourth and fifth grades, 38 percent of the fifth and sixth grades, 22 percent of the sixth and seventh grades, 19 percent of the seventh and eighth grades, 45 percent of the eighth and ninth grades, 31 percent of the ninth and 10th grades and 36 percent of the 10th and 11th grades.

The only score that was lower than the math growth rates in each grade grouping was the sixth- and seventh-grade science score at 16 percent.

The district released another graph explaining the percentage of students proficient in each subject area.

The lowest percent was 42 percent in second-grade math, and the highest proficiency rate was 84 percent in eighth-grade science.

In other business, the school board approved bids from Carroll Controls for a new boiler feedtank at Adams Elementary and a hot-water heater for Adams.

The bids were for $8,648 and $7,450, both just a few dollars less than bids from Drees.

The water heater was approved by the board contingent on its necessity.

Superintendent Rob Cordes said Jeff Dvorak, the supervisor of building and grounds for the district, believes that he has the problem with the old water heater fixed.

The board also agreed to fly 12 FFA students and their teacher Kolby Burch and a parent to Indianapolis, Ind., for the national FFA convention. The students need to be at the convention early but will travel back on the bus with the rest of the students.

During the meeting, Kim Tiefenthaler was re-elected as board president and Jerry Fleshner vice president.

The board established its meeting times as every third Monday of the month at 6 p.m. in the Adams Board Room.

The committees remained the same as last year with LaVern Dirkx and Dan Tiefnethaler on the transportation committee, Dirkx and Dennis Molitor on the school improvement team, Kim Tiefenthaler on the Iowa Association of School Boards legislative network and the IASB delegate, Dan Tiefenthaler on the conference board, Fleshner and Molitor on the parent school cooperative, Dirkx and Dan Tiefenthaler on the calendar fact-finding committee, Fleshner and Kim Tiefenthaler on the at-risk advisory committee and CHS assistant principal Tammie McKenzie and district business manager Gary Bengtson will be affirmative action coordinators.